Friday, June 1, 2012

Shopping with a baby!

Bob is a shopping cart that LOVES to help out with your trip to the grocery store. See how happy it makes him??

The only things Bob loves more than shopping...are BABIES!!

Bob is super excited to help this family get groceries...but wait, what is this...?? Bob is not happy...

You see, Bob took a class on car seat safety. He knows that putting an infant carrier on the top of shopping cart can be very VERY dangerous.

Bob has heard every excuse in the book as to why people put their infant carriers in the top of the shopping cart, even when they have been told time and time again that it was unsafe.

Bob also knows that anecdotal evidence doesn't get you very far in life. Just because somewhere down the line, somebody survived this

it doesn't make their choices any less idiotic and it DOES NOT mean that it's a good idea for you to do it as well.

So...without further ado, let's go over some reasons why putting a carrier in the top of a cart is not a safe choice.

Reason #1

Strollers and infant car seat bases are made so that when they are holding a car seat, the recline angle is between 30 and 45 degrees so that the baby A. is upright enough to be protected in a car accident and B. not too upright that it obstructs their ability to breathe.

(Humor me/use your imagination, do whatever it takes to pretend this looks like a car seat)

However, if I had a dime for how many times I was walking through the grocery store and saw this...

well, I'd have a lot of dimes. When the carrier is not at a correct recline angle, the baby's oxygen can be cut off if they are in the carrier for a prolonged period.

**DISCLAIMER** If you don't see anything wrong with the above picture, stop what you are doing, go sit on the couch, prop your legs up on the back cushions and lean back to watch tv for the next hour...then come back and let me know how you feel and how easy it was for you to breathe.

Reason #2

Having an infant seat on the top of the cart makes it top heavy. Something as simple as rounding a corner too quickly can flip the entire shopping cart over.

Reason #3

While it's already hard to see what is in front of you when you are pushing a shopping cart, adding an infant car seat that sticks up an extra 12+ inches makes it impossible. You never know what you'll run into or run over when your view is obstructed.

You did it now...you killed Kenny. (while I have never seen South park myself, it was re-enacted one too many times in middle school so it is now permanently etched in my head)

Reason #4

Even if your car seat appears to click (because I hear that all the time... "well mine fits, it even latches on"), it was not made to be up there, it was only made to "click" onto a stroller or car seat base. A small jolt is sometimes enough to un-latch it from the cart and have the entire carrier flip over onto the floor in a matter of seconds. See a real example here.

Reason #5

Since it was NOT made to fit on a cart, trying to get it to latch on anyway could damage the mechanism that makes it attach to your car seat base. You won't notice that it is defective it until you are flying down the highway and get into a wreck and your child's seat is ejected through the front windshield. However, by then it will be too late.

32 comments:

The 2nd time I ever put my son on top of the cart (was about 6wks) his entire car seat fell off and I wasn't making a sharp turn or anything. Just a soft turn. Luckily I caught it before it fell on the ground. It was seriously scary!!!

My child fell out at 6 weeks. I had been holding him and set him in it to put my sling carrier on to carry him while I checked out. I was RIGHT THERE!!! I didnt move away and something happened and there was a jump and the car seat leaned over and he fell out. It is hard to write that but it was awful to witness. He was thankfully ok. We had all kinds of scans done and he is now almost 3 years old. I thank god every day for him. And I always tell moms about it most listen. Not all. :-(

Where I went shopping, they actually had infant carriers on top of the shopping cart like this: http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Shopping-Cart-Infant-Safe-Seat-Plus-New-/11/!Bc,+2dwBmk~$(KGrHqQOKjQEq5B0iBCHBK0e5SUfF!~~_35.JPG and the baby could sit up straight and look at you for the entire time while safely secured!

Love your post! I cringe everytime I see a baby up on the cart. When my daughter was born 10 years ago, the nurse and doctor both said "always in the basket, never up top" Makes total sense to me. Sure was it easy to go grocery shopping with the baby in the basket, not really. But we survived. With my son I just wore him.

I LOVED this!! My fave part regarding, "well, so and so did it and they're fine!" I hate that! "it doesn't make their choices any less idiotic and it DOES NOT mean that it's a good idea for you to do it as well." Love it! I always wear my baby in the grocery store- I wish more people would! I hate seeing the shopping cart thing because if you say anything, you're some judgemental mom who knows better.

Love this and agree 100%. I'm wondering though, where you found out that "latching" the carseat into a shopping cart could damage the mechanism. I'm just curious and would love to see that information. Thanks!

I live in NZ, and most big stores here have shopping carts that have infant seats permanently attached to them. I always had a convertible car seat for my kids from birth, and usually wore them anyway, but it was good to have those carts available. We went to the US for 6 months, and I forgot to bring my carrier to the store, and there was literally nowhere to put my infant. I've seen the carts with infant seats at some Targets, but it'd be nice if more stores could get them so people would feel less compelled to perch their car seats on the cart....

They problem is, there is a right way and a wrong way to put them in the cart. It must "click" is, just like in the car seat base. Also, the baby should have it's head above it's feet. I've see far too many times where the baby is in the seat almost upside down with their feet way above their head. Lastly, you should be holding onto the carrier at all times, even with one hand/arm so you can feel if the carrier is starts moving (some carts the seats are very secure others they aren't Babies R Us has the worst carts to put a carrier in).

I am sorry but the information you are spreading is false. Shopping carts ALL have a warning not to use an infant seat on top of it. Even if it appears to click, it can damage the locking mechanism and the next time it snaps onto the base in the car, it may not be as secure....and you won't find that out til you are in a car accident.

Most car seat manufacturers warn against using car seats with shopping carts in their manuals. Not only is this unsafe it can weaken and damage the car seat clips so they are no longer secure in the car. A company called Safestrap just started selling the Safe-Dock to supermarkets so infants have a safe place to ride. This is fixed to the cart and lets you use your car seat safely with the shopping cart. If you don’t see them at your store, tell the store manager you need one. They are usually happy to help shoppers.

That product looks like an improvement... but how does it help with the top-heaviness? How does it compare to the built-in seats on shopping carts, or to the child seats for that matter? I know they both have weight restrictions on them and I assume that is the maximum that the cart is designed to balance.

Post like this that pretend an issue is so black and white are annoying and pointless. This, and most parenting issues, should be up to mommy and/or daddy's discretion. I put one hand on the cart and one hand on the carrier while I shopped. It worked for. I never had a single issue. Is it good information that parent can use to weigh their options? Yes. But the author goes about sharing this information in an arrogant, tasteless manor. Get off your high horse and open your mind.

As should you. Two parents above you pointed out that in spite of being right there (and one had her hand on the cart) that their car seats fell out before their very eyes. I'm glad you never had an issue, but don't minimalize the fact that many parents have and that there is a safer way and no reason not to use it but selfish arrogance on your part. If you believe you know better, great. Then you obviously have no reason to defend your choices. Leave the parents who have suffered huge scares or baby losses and who are trying to spread information to make children safer alone.

Well... there are also those who do not believe in strapping their kids in the little seat belt in the seat area, and allow bigger ones to stand up in the basket too... because they are 'right there'. Yea. I worked at a grocery store and saw quite a few of those kids topple right out... >:-(

WOW!! She isn't arrogant at all nor is she on her high horse. THIS IS AN ACTUAL ISSUE! Car seats are NOT meant to go on to carts...EVER! There are NO black or white areas here. Carseats and carts clearly warn against it. Why risk it?

A baby downstairs to the store to buy drinks. The shopkeeper gave him a bottle of, then the child says no money.cheap rs gold The shopkeeper is angrily threatened:"Don't have the money to your mother!" The child was frightened out of bottle caps are off the ground. Pick up a see: come again a bottle of! So the bottle cap, gave it to the owner, walked happily.cheap wow gold Leave the owner to choose a suitable text book with a clueless look on his face.